Why do people Panic?
The human mind can be separated into two main areas. The conscious mind & subconscious mind. (I know psychologists will want to go further but for information gathering and processing, this will do for now).
Studies show that the conscious mind can only handle one thought at a time (I know that women have said this about men for years but it is true with everybody) Once the conscious mind formulates a thought, the subconscious mind then processes the information very much like a data processor in a computer. You type in a command, then allow the central processor to come up with an answer.
Consider you want to cross a road. As you step onto the road you hear a noise and look up and see a car coming towards you. The conscious thought is there is a car coming. At this time the subconscious picks up the information and scans its data file for facts it knows about cars. Now most people would have seen hundreds of thousands of cars in their time so the data base is full of information on how to deal with this problem. The subconscious calculates the possible impact point and if necessary galvanises the muscles to take evasive action.
Now consider its 2:00am and you are woken by a constant beep, beep, beep. Immediately you smell smoke. The subconscious mind has enough information to work out that the sound of a smoke alarm and the smell of smoke can only mean one thing. FIRE There is you one conscious thought. Now the subconscious mind gathers up all the information it has about house fires. If you are like most people this will be almost nothing.
At this point the thought processing is handed back to the conscious mind for either clarification or more information. Unfortunately, working at one thought at a time is too slow. Ive got to get out Ive got to call the fire brigade Ive got to wake the kids Ive got to put the fire out Where is the fire What can I use to put out the fire Ive got to save the Cat/Dog/Budgie Should I disturb the partner/spouse? Oh my God, what do I do first? Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!
Because there are so many thoughts happening so quickly, and no information coming back from the subconscious mind confusion starts and this leads to little or no actiion. Confusion reigns supreme and we panic. Some people will run around screaming. Some will freeze on the spot and do nothing. Some will go and hide and hope it will all go away. All these choices can lead to almost certain death in a fire situation.
The one way to overcome this possible panic is to start filling the subconscious mind with relevant data. What plans and procedures can you put in place? What equipment can you get? Where can we locate the equipment for maximum effect? What training can I get? Review the plans and procedures regularly and start building up a well of information on what you can or should do if a fire occurs in your workplace or home.
With this knowledge firmly embedded into your subconscious, the chance of panic falls away and the ability to act calmly and rationally will happen without conscious thought.
http://www.firstresponsefire.com.au/news/why-do-people-panic/